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Symposium Chairman, Kevin Ogden, Superintendent of Julian Union Elementary School District, announces the Small School Districts' Association will conduct its annual symposium for first and second year Superintendents at the Embassy Suites in Sacramento, CA on July 20 - 21, 2009.
The agenda includes timely information on budgets and legislature, lessons on the budget process, the Brown Act, forming positive relations with trustees, successful personnel management practices and a presentation by “survivors” of their first year or two as a superintendent.
For more information related to the Symposium click here.
For information on Sponsorship opportunities for our Superintendent Symposium click here.
“Meeting the Challenge of Leadership in California Small School Districts”
The Small School Districts’ Association, in partnership with Teach the Teacher Collaborative and Central Valley Educational Leadership Institute, is pleased to announce a week-long institute (July 26 - 31, 2010) at Thacher School in Ojai, CA.
A group of small school Superintendents and Superintendent-Principals via a conference call outlined specific content areas the Institute should address. Leading speakers on these topics are now being contacted.
Attendees will have the opportunity to not only deal with critical educational issues, but the real issues small school Superintendents see on a day-to-day basis: relationship building, effective school research, managing the limited time of a small school Superintendent, building a budget during difficult (impossible) times, WASC in a small district, identifying and meeting the most critical daily work items, available grants, time to write grants, addressing issues unique to your district are but a few items on the agenda.
Trustees are also invited as the team prepares a program to help Trustees not only study governance issues but also identify the critical role they must fill. “There is a great opportunity for team building and district problem solving when the members of the governance team assemble in a learning environment. We want to create that environment in Ojai,” report conference planners, Al Sandrini, SSDA Executive Director, Bob Walczak, TTTC Director and Walt Buster, Director of CVELI.
As budgets for 2009-2010 and beyond are prepared, Superintendents are strongly urged to allocate funds available through Program Improvement Funds, Stimulus Funds and other sources that require expenditures in staff development. “It is unfortunate we often forget the leaders of districts when we think about staff development,” reports Sandrini.
School leaders are encouraged to "Mark the Date" and allocate the funds that will provide for this significant staff development program.
If you have any questions or for more information, please contact Al Sandrini at (916) 444-9335.
By Dennis Meyers, CASBO Assistant Executive Director, Advocacy & Policy
This afternoon the Democratic controlled two-house conference committee closed out the K-12 education items on the budget. The committee adopted many of the governor’s May Revision proposals and changed others to the chagrin of the committee’s Republican members.
Here is a summary of the more important items:
Where does this all go now?
We expect floor votes on the budget early next week as time is needed to get all of the committee’s actions into bill form. But do not expect that the budget will pass easily. There remain significant differences between the Democrats and Republicans and the governor. For example, the conference committee all but ignored the governor’s May 29 recognition of an additional $3 billion slide in revenue since adoption of the February budget. This action actually put off an additional $680 million hit to revenue limits proposed by the governor. Republicans do not like ignoring the gloomier revenue estimates and note that it is just putting off the inevitable.
Also, Democrats acted to reduce the governor’s proposed reserve of $4.5 billion and added another $4 billion in revenue. Both of these actions will not sit well with the governor and Republicans.
Secretary of Education
Also included in the budget adopted by the conferees was elimination of funding for the Office of the Secretary of Education.
How should you plan?
As hard as it is to write, there has been little legislative resistance to the cuts. We will have to wait and see how the debate goes concerning gloomier revenue estimates and additional revenue limit cuts. We will know more as the drama on the floors of each house unfolds when the budget comes up for a vote.
We’ll keep you posted.